Category Archives: Photography

I have been a little busy lately shooting a range of local restaurants and cafes in Toowoomba for the Cancer Council fundraiser event ‘Toowoomba’s Largest Girls Night In’. Now that is finished I can get back to some personal projects and in the kitchen. This weekend I asked our daughter Amy what should I cook this and she requested Orange and Poppy Seed Cake. I had plenty of oranges and I wanted to shoot on a new plate that I had bought a little while ago but not used as yet. I had intended to shoot it on a new background that I had purchased from another photographer which is a large piece of ply covered in a beautiful blue grey wooden floorboards. But I only just realised as I was starting to write this blog I had totally forgotten this. Oh well more opportunity in the future.

I found this recipe in the Marie Clare edition. This book has never failed me and it is normally very simple to follow. No need for complexity. Just simple goodness.

Soy Kaffir and Lime Grilled Salmon

I have been wanting to find a piece of black or gray slate tile or server for a while now. I just love the texture and the way it is unstructured similar to the characteristics of wood. I had seen one in town a couple of weeks back but thought nah I would wait a little. But I went last week and do you think I could find it or even remember where I may have seen it? I was shopping with a friend and said oh well I must just not meant to buy it right now. And blow me down this morning I was having my cup of tea in bed and a garage sale notification came up which was just around the corner and it was arranged by a house stylist and she was clearing out a lot of her items.

So I managed to pick up two small slate servers for $2 each. BARGAIN! So yes my inspiration was peaked and I had been wanting to make up one of my favourite marinades/syrups by Simply Ming cookbook and the authors of Blue Ginger for a while now but had no real reason to. The Soy – Kaffir Lime syrup is simply divine and better yet it calls for me to use my Kaffir lime tree and some of my Tahitian limes.If you have read my other food safaris you will know I love to use parts of our garden as it seems to make the experience so much more rewarding.

So I wanted to have a clean serving of rice so oiled my egg rings and pushed in tightly the cooked rice and then began to make the syrup.

Food Photography is a passion

Food Photography is a passion that is for sure. To begin a session there is so much prep work. Finding a recipe, buying the ingredients, deciding what props to use and the colour scheme. This is all before deciding on the lighting and the lens.

Today I started a session with the sole purpose of finally prepping some old crates and wooden boxes which I purchased from a swap and sell ad. They are a little worn and tired but I could see the hidden gems.

Everything I have I try to serve a dual purpose. Whether it is a napkin that has two different sides. Or a bowl that can serve as a stand as well. These boxes were not strong enough to serve as a seat or to stand on so I decided to make them multipurpose backdrops. As you can see from the photos below I had fun creating a range of surfaces to hopefully support many future shoots. I did’nt even sand them back or hammer in the loose nails. I thought it added to the rusticness. This first image is of a delicate little box and I think you can just make out the stamping in it. It is an old ETA table margarine with vitamins box. That made me giggle. Margarine with vitamins. The other one is quite a bit bigger. So one side I painted a solid grey blue, one side I oiled and the other a white wash.

Welcome Reuben into the Ross family

I had the fantastic chance to spend some time with Sam and Daniel to help welcome Reuben into the Ross family. This would have to be my first lifestyle newborn family shoot. I had met Sam through Toowoomba’s Mumenpreneurs and asked if she wouldn’t mind me coming in and taking some photos of her new family with the understanding I really didn’t know what I would capture. Being able to go without the stress of a paid client I could relax and just enjoy the pure energy of the home.

I rocked up to their home and was greeted by Zander and Corbin at the front door. They proudly told me they were having their photos taken today and were quite excited. Next I met Daniel who was holding little Reuben and I quickly realised I had forgotten how tiny they were, Sonny and I have two of our own but they are teenagers now. All bundled up and asleep laying on Daniel’s shoulder.

So I quickly got out my camera and it was on! Action stations and moments to capture left right center up down and everywhere. It was so thrilling to run around and keep an eye out for moments. I noticed they had a Staffy named Indie and she was a blue. We have a staffy a chocolate brindle staff and they are just the most loyal dogs and love kids. So we went outside and played with some bubbles. Kids always love bubbles. I love how their little cheeks fill with air and they think the harder they blow the bigger the bubbles. Lol. Even Indie got into the game and jumped everywhere trying to eat the bubbles.

Sensual Contemplation

Sensual contemplation is how I would sum up my afternoon with the lovely artistic Kiarn. I wanted to test my skills and create some moody yet sensual Black & White Rim Light Photography which was different to my personal style of light and airy or food. Sonny has been doing amazing work out in the field and in the studio whilst on leave however that is for another session.

Basically this is rim lighting and the purpose is to allow the shapes and touches of light escaping around the body to create the outlines and give a suggestion only. We used a range of light modifiers on our strobes to play and craft the light. You will see some are soft and the shadows fall of gradually and in other areas the light is crisp and forms a sharp outline to kiss the body.

Toowoomba School Formals – This is just the beginning

It was Toowoomba School Formals time and we were asked to capture four beautiful young ladies. What a special time for families to see their young children all grown up and graduating from High School. The anticipation of the future and the what ifs and what nows was electrifying. The beautiful old cars were in someways just as much a factor as were the dresses and the preparation. Toowoomba is very lucky to have such a range of vehicles at their disposal.

Sonny and Kat Photography were privileged to capture these moments for the families to document this momentous milestone in their children’s lives.

Each of these young ladies were all different in character and wanted different themes which is great. As you can see the one in front of the Empire Theatre was a controlled shoot. Believe it or not but we arranged to meet up at 11pm!!! to get this shot. So there was no traffic and it was after the graduation celebrations and just before the after party. There were lights and reflectors going everywhere. It was so much fun to create an art piece. This young couple were both music and art lovers and it was fitting to create this for them.

Family Portraits at Christmas TIme – A great opportunity

In the week leading up to Christmas I had said to Sonny we would have a break and not do any photo shoots till New Years but a day or so before Christmas we were asked to travel to Esk the day after Boxing Day to do family portraits who have not come together like this for 20 years. How could we not say yes when we know the importance of documenting the lives of families. We agreed to meet up in the early morning so the kids were fresh and people had not started their travels back to their home towns. The night before was so windy and stormy I was relieved to see the weather had cleared by the morning and the rain had done a great job at washing everything down and made the plants and gardens look lively and fresh.

We are so lucky to meet some amazing people through our photography. Some of these connections last so much longer than a simple photo shoot and provide inspiration for future endeavors.

One such occasion is with Tamlyn who came to us to get some professional images of her fitness progress. What I didn’t realise until after the shoot, Tamlyn was a mother of three and still managed to work her butt off to create such a toned physique. It was so much fun to work with Tamlyn and push the light to create harsh lines and shadows to accentuate her toned muscles. Normally with the female body we try to portray the soft sensual lines of the female body; however, the contrast we were able to achieve was very rewarding.

We decided these school holidays to take the kids and the dogs away for a relaxing break to the beach. Our puppy hadn’t seen the beach yet and we certainly deserved a break.

Kat booked an amazing place back from the main street with fantastic views and great appeal. It had its own pool and the kids had their own room and best of all the dogs were allowed to roam as much as they wanted. It is fantastic when you find places who are happy to accept dogs, as they are an important part of the family.

We have again expanded our capabilities which will hopefully set us apart from the rest. Service is something we pride ourselves on and being able to take the time to edit and create your prints as we intended for them to look, is invaluable.

Sonny strongly believes we should be able to ensure what our clients see in the final print is of the highest quality. Even though we do our best to edit and proof the colours, once we hand the media over to our clients, if they choose to have them printed by Kmart or Vistaprint, there is no control over the final effect. We do not want our reputation to be based on this final product, hence why we can offer the service now.